I Confessed to the Three Beautiful Sisters at School and Got Rejected, but After I Became their Stepsister, They Started Doting On Me - Chapter 67

“Everyone, please calm down. Aren’t you… misunderstanding something?”

It felt like I had been dreaming for a long time—but this dream showed no signs of ending.

I snapped back to reality, wondering if this was truly happening.

“Calm down…? The only way to calm down is for you to give us an answer!”
said Saezuki Satsuki, baring her metaphorical fangs.

She was… really scary.

“And it’s not a misunderstanding at all. This is our unanimous decision.”

“Yes, that’s right, Akari-chan. If you’re going to say this burning feeling is just a misunderstanding, then love itself must be nothing more than an ephemeral dream…”

“Okay, Hiyori-nee, maybe it’s time to tone it down? You could try regaining some of that old sense of social harmony?”

Even Tsukimori-san and the others offered no denial.

The four of them… are in love with me?

How did anything in my life lead up to this?

“Putting those three idiots aside, what about you, Hanano?”

“Wh-what about me…?”

Saezuki-san pressed in on me, but I had no words—no answer to give.

My thoughts were in complete disarray.

“You’re the only one who can settle this! So, what are you going to do?!”

“I… I don’t know! You can’t just spring this on me…”

It was all so sudden, I hadn’t even begun to sort through my emotions, let alone formulate a response.

“Now, now. Satsuki-chan, please calm yourself. Akari-chan needs time to think, doesn’t she?”

“Ah… yes…”

Hiyori-san gently stepped in and saved me from the pressure.

“So let’s give her a little more time. A woman who can’t wait isn’t very attractive, you know?”

“…Hmph. Fine.”

Saezuki-san snorted, but seemed to accept the suggestion—for now.

“Wait a second—did you just call us ‘the three idiots’? Even though Chiya-nee here is top of the class, how do we qualify as idiots?”

“Fine, then you can be one idiot, Tsukimori Karin.”

“Why am I the only one downgraded to just one!?”

“Because you’re the one with bad grades.”

The two of them bickered yet again…

The air felt heavy—oppressively so.

“Saezuki Riko, don’t you have your part-time job? You should probably hurry.”

“Ugh—y-yeah, I do, but…”

Saezuki-san opened and closed her mouth like she didn’t want to leave.

“I’m serious about this, okay?! So make sure you think carefully about your answer!”

It seemed she was talking to me, confessing her feelings with a purity that made it impossible to ignore.

“Um…”

“What?!”

“G-good luck at work…”

At the very least, she still had her job to get to.

Even though it was partially my fault, it must be difficult working with such unresolved feelings hanging in the air.

“It’s not like I’m doing it to support your household or anything!”

“I know that…”

With cheeks blushing, Saezuki-san blurted out something almost nonsensical, then stormed off in a flustered rush.

After that whirlwind, we—sisters—headed home together.

◇◇◇

Later, at the dinner table during supper…

“…Eh?”

What… is going on here?

“Come now, dig in—eat up, okay? ♡”

“Ah, no, um…”

Dinner that night was hamburg steak.

Which, to be honest, made me pretty happy…

“Um, Hiyori-san, what’s this?”

“Yes, I made it with all the love and skill I could muster!”

No, that’s not what I meant…

In front of me was a towering stack of heart-shaped hamburger steaks.

Just for the record—everyone else’s were normal, round ones.

“Wait a sec, Hiyori-nee! Why is Akari’s the only one shaped like a heart!?”

Karin-san, noticing the anomaly, immediately called it out.

Yes, exactly—please say more!

“Oh my, I guess it just… happened to turn out that way?”

“There’s no way it just happened! That’s the most blatant flirting I’ve ever seen!”

Karin-san responded as anyone would.

“Well, if it’s a coincidence, then there’s nothing to be done.”

Chiya-san, surprisingly, seemed to accept it without much fuss… but—

“Um, Chiya-san? What are you doing…?”

She had picked up one of the heart-shaped patties with her chopsticks and was guiding it straight toward my mouth.

“It appears I’ve accidentally ended up feeding you.”

You’ve got to be kidding me…

“There’s no way that’s a coincidence!!”
Karin-san exploded.

“You two! Didn’t we all agree to wait for Akari’s answer? Stop the obvious flirting! You’re putting pressure on her!”

Karin-san stood up for me and called out both Chiya-san and Hiyori-san for their behavior.

And maybe her words got through—neither of them said anything more, as if finally realizing how far they’d gone.

To be fair, I did appreciate their feelings.

But still—this kind of overwhelming affection was a bit much for me to handle.

“…Hey, Akari’s hamburg looks super hot. Want me to blow on it for you?”

Wait—Karin-san?

“…Oi.”

“Haha, just kidding~”
Karin-san stuck out her tongue and tapped her head with a bonk as the older sisters’ intimidating voices echoed behind her.

W-wait just a second…

This is getting weird.

“Akari-chan’s heart is already mine—via her stomach, of course!”

“If that’s how we’re measuring things, then I hold the most important domain—a student’s academic future.”

“Uh… I guess I… Um… Didn’t you say I hate basketball…? Oh no, am I useless…?”

It was clear—the three sisters were gearing up for battle.

Are they really going to stay in this cold war until I give them an answer?

I wanted nothing more than peace between them.
And yet somehow, I’ve become the very cause of conflict.

Is this really happening…?
What kind of absurd situation have I found myself in…?

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